Thyself
by xxivxo
Summary: The team's journey of discovering their true selves.


**I am a shadow…the true self…**

"There's nothing to do in this backward ass town anyways. You thought the new transfer student here could maybe provide some sort of entertainment, and then this whole TV world bullshit really had you going."

"Stop it!"

"The death of your sweetheart, you're using it all as some excuse just to be the hero. You thought you could just come here and figure all this out and that maybe people would stop thinking you're the most annoying person around town?"

_And I'd give up forever to touch you_

_Cause I know that you feel me somehow._

"**I'm so worthless, I always need Chie to protect me. Chie is so brave and strong and so much better, I love her so much."**

Laughter booms into the room, startling the lone figure in the central area.

"Chie is so brave and strong. What a load of shit."

"W-Who are you?"

"Who am I? I'm _you_."

The statement made Chie go silent as he was taking in every part of the mirror image of herself.

"I'm the **real** you though. All the jealousy you have for Yukiko. You only ever stayed friends with her because you love how you dominate over her. You're practically obsessed with it. How pathetic."

"That's not true!"

The shadow smirked while placing a hand on her hip.

"Yukiko needs me, without me she's useless."

_You're the closets to Heaven, that I'll ever be_

_And I don't wanna go home right now._

"In search of my prince charming, oh look there are three princes running in now."

Lying on the floor, brown eyes stared up at golden ones just as the sound of footsteps made her glance back.

"Chie!"

"Yukiko!"

They reached for one another, but the distance was too great, and the weight of guilt began to grow.

"All I long for is for someone to take me away from here. I hate this town, I hate the traditions, I hate having to inherit the inn. I want to break free, but I'm too useless to do it."

Yukiko was speechless. Her mouth parted, words not forming as she could only listen to the dark words that she would never admit to anyone but herself.

"T-That's not…"

"So I sit on my ass and wait for someone to take me away from here."

_And all I can taste is this moment._

_And all I can breathe is your life._

"You're not masculine enough, you like cute things, that's not manly. _**Girls are scary**_."

Kanji gripped his fists, his rage already seeping into the atmosphere of the heated environment.

"Having a guy would be easier; they wouldn't be so quick to judge me."

The touch of the shadow's hands on his shoulders made him stiffen, his rage building up even more as he was practically shaking now.

"Shut the hell up."

_And sooner or later it's over,_

_I just don't wanna miss you tonight._

"Oh c'mon, you wanna show your stuff dontcha?"

Rise yelled out, staring at the ground as if frozen in shame.

"So which one is the _real_ Rise?"

Suddenly the real Rise was surrounded by multiple doppelganger images of herself. The flash of golden eyes and constant sounds of her own voice amplified made her close her eyes, screaming out.

"I don't know!"

_And I don't want the world to see me,_

_Cause I don't think that they'd understand._

"_The truth is unattainable... It will always be shrouded in fog. Though you reach through the murk and the gloom to grasp something, you have no means to know it is the truth... In which case, why...? What sense is there in yearning for truth? Close your eyes. Lie to yourself. Live in blissful ignorance... It is a much smarter way to exist._"

Teddie appeared inside the vast area of nothing but white. Nothing but hollowness, and the sinking feeling tugging on every fiber of his body as he stared at the shadow self who spoke lowly.

"_There isn't a 'real me'…"_

_When everything's made to be broken,_

_I just want you to know who I am._

The secret laboratory was filled with a shrill whimper just before two similar figures stood apart from one another.

"Stop acting so childish. That's what all the adults have ever said to you."

Naoto faltered back a little, seeing the shadow approach from the front more rapidly.

"You do all you can to please, just in order to feel worthwhile. But in the end they're just going to discard you anyways."

The sudden sound of a machine starting up startled the lone human, and within seconds a device had Naoto trapped on a surgical table.

"The Detective Prince. Such lies. "Naoto" such a cool, manly name. What good are you to anyone if they found out the truth? You want to cross the boundaries, but there's one thing you can _**never**_ cross and that's the boundaries of the sexes. You could never be like the manly detectives you try to imitate, when you were never _male_ to begin with!"

_And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming;_

_Or the moment of truth in the lies._

Yosuke fell to the floor, his hands shaking as he tried to block out the words coming from the image of himself.

"You always try to do things for others just so they'll find you less annoying. Even Saki found you annoying as hell. Trying to act happy-go-lucky all the damn time just to get people to like you. God you're so pathetic."

"Shut-"

"All you do is think about yourself. You're only using this guy now to keep yourself from losing your fucking mind here in the sticks."

"No…you're not…"

"Yes…go on say it."

"**YOU'RE NOT ME**!"

"AHAHAHAHA! YES! NOW I'M NOT YOU. I'M **ME**, SEE!"

_When everything feels like the movies,_

_Yeah you bleed just to know you're alive!_

"Yukiko has everything I don't. She's so feminine, and all the guys want to ask her out. She's perfect. So perfect that I have to act as her protector just to feel like I'm better than her."

"No…you're wrong…"

"What was that?"

"No! That's not how it is at all!"

The shadow scoffed, her golden eyes piercing into brown ones.

"But it is. Your friendship with Yukiko is nothing but you fueling your own insecurities through her."

"No! You're lying…you're not…"

The shadow smirked as if waiting for it.

"You're not me!"

_And I don't want the world to see me,_

_Cause I don't think that they'd understand._

"I depended on you so much Chie; I could never do anything on my own."

Yukiko was trembling, staring down at the ground as she couldn't bring herself to look at the others further away.

"Yes Chie, you were a strong prince. But after that one day, I realized that you couldn't help me leave either."

"No…"

"I'm so helpless. Someone come and save me."

"No, you're not…me-_**you're not me**_!"

A shrill of laughter filled the vast hall, a cage falling from overhead and trapping Yukiko behind its bars.

_When everything's made to be broken,_

_I just want you to know who I am._

"Yes I vastly prefer men."

"Bullshit."

The shadow stayed close, staring directly at Kanji.

"But it's true. Why you're me and I'm you."

"Like hell you are."

The protests in the background were ignored. Kanji completely enraged, the words came from him with no hesitation.

"There's no way in hell that you're me!"

"You're me and there's no denying it!" The shadow flared up, disappearing in a cloud of red.

_See me._

"This is me, the real me. Not Risette the fake celebrity, the truth is right in front of you." The shadow moved to the pole, starting to slide down it as she spoke fluidly. "I'm sick of being some airhead cliché who takes everything with a smile."

The shadow laughed cutely while tugging at the strings of her bikini top. "Don't worry; I'll definitely help you figure it out. _Look at me_."

"No. Stop it-stop it!" Screaming out as if her life depended on it, Rise stood up and yelled straight at herself. "You're not me!"

_Find me._

Teddie was sinking into the dark mass, staring at his shadow self with every second that he slipped away. With a firm look on his face, he quickly began to yell out.

"I'll find myself, I'm not alone."

The pulling sensation stopped. Teddie stared at his shadow self.

"How can you summon such strength for such a futile endeavor?"

"I'll never stop looking. I have Sensei and the others to help me too."

_Keep me._

"I am you after all."

Naoto was trapped, her body subjected to an impending operation as she was stuck staring at the shadow leering near her, a malicious smirk on its face.

"No…that's not true."

"Ahahaha but it is."

"No! You're not me!"

_Like me._

"This is a part of me."

The shadow taking its larger form towered over slightly, screaming in anguish.

"It can't be!"

"All of it, no matter how ugly it is, it's part of me."

"You're really going to accept me?!"

The visible change began, Yu taking the chance to strike the shadow down completely. Everything changed, and all that was left moments later was the shadow lying on the floor in its mirror image.

"You're me." Yosuke placed a hand to its shoulder, feeling the sudden surge of power as golden eyes disappeared and the vision of his persona and a card formed before him.

_Understand me._

Chie was lost. The world around her dark, nothing but the depression, anxiety, and utter defeat lingering. The sound of something familiar entered her mind, her face suddenly turning to see the smallest shred of light amidst the darkness.

"Chie-Chie!"

"Yosuke?"

"Chie! So what if this is part of you? We all have things that we don't want people to see. Even if you feel that way sometimes, it doesn't change that you and Yukiko are friends!" The words of encouragement made Chie slowly stand up from the ground. Her hands fisted, eyes staring over at the shadow that was about to start another attack.

"You're right. I hate to admit it, but I am jealous of Yukiko."

The shadow stopped in mid-attack, its eyes going wide as it began to fade somewhat.

"I like that she depends on me, but she's still my friend!"

The scream grew louder, the form shifting back to nothing but the image of herself.

"You're me and I'm you."

_Free me._

"I'm awful. I have no courage on my own. I was trying to find someone to set me free."

The flames engulfed the area. Cries of her friends being heard as attacks were becoming unable to even hit the shadow. She had her hands clutching on the bars, eyes filling with tears as she could only feel frozen in her own emotions.

"So what if you're awful?"

The voice of her best friend instantly caught her attention, and she stared down to see her walking through the flames.

Before Chie could even say another word, she coughed loudly, falling to the ground.

"It's not like I'm the person you thought I was either. I have lots of bad parts of me too, but even still, I want to stay with you!" Standing back up with the strength she had left, Chie stared directly at the raven-haired girl. "Because you're important to me, because we're friends!"

"Chie!"

"Stop! STOP!" The flames only grew with the shadow's fury, filling the area entirely as Yukiko began to stand.

_**What was I so afraid of?**_

_**There's nothing to fear…because I have…**_

With nothing but courage in her fingertips, Yukiko pushed forward, the bars falling from her wake as she fell down towards the one who was most important to her.

"Chie!"

"Yukiko!"

_Accept me._

"I think, it's really cute."

Kanji held the toy that he had sewn in his hands. Standing near him was Yu, a genuine smile on his lips. It made a surge of energy enter his fists as he hit his own shadow.

"It made me happy that you liked it."

The shadow looked up from the ground, having transformed from its weak state back to the mirror image of Kanji.

"You have to accept it as part of you."

Kanji felt a bit uneasy, but he gradually walked over to the shadow, kneeling down to look at it.

"It's pretty damn pathetic that you're part of me, but you are. And it's not a matter of not liking girls; I just want to be accepted."

_And I don't want the world to see me,_

_Cause I don't think that they'd understand._

"I've gotta help!"

Teddie used all his strength, causing an all-out attack against the shadow that had inflicted major damage to the team and their individual weakness's.

"Teddie you did it!"

Rise was caught between worrying about Teddie and how he was now deflated and seeing her shadow lying on the floor in its doppelganger form again. The group looked to her, telling her to go to herself and she did. Sitting on the floor, she stared down at golden eyes.

"I'm sorry."

"I've realized, there is no real me. You and Rise, you both were born from me."

_When everything's made to be broken,_

_I just want you to know who I am._

Kanji had Naoto on his shoulders, her passed out figure slowly coming to as the entire laboratory was completely destroyed moments before.

As she opened her eyes, she saw the gazes from seven others, and slowly sitting up let her see her shadow standing nearby.

"You're right. I'm sorry I kept ignoring you and pretending like you don't exist." But you are me, and I am you. You've always been inside of me." Naoto smiled a little as she felt a resolve become firm within herself. "What I yearn for, no what I strive for isn't to become a man, it's to accept myself for who I really am."

'When I grow up, I want to be an awesome hard-boiled detective!' The shadow smiled as it faded into a blue light to reveal her persona.

_And I don't want the world to see me,_

_Cause I don't think that they'd understand._

_When everything's made to be broken,_

_**I just want you to know who I am**._

Yu sat on the ground, fallen to his knees. The sounds of TVs fizzled on around him, stacked high upon one another up to the ceiling. He stared at the screens, seeing his own face broadcasted but his grey eyes only showing a golden gaze.

"I don't want to be alone."

The feeling in his heart, the clutching of his hand, and the array of blue filling his surroundings showed the alternative to the lie. None of this was real. The darkness surrounding him was false, the only truth lying in the palm of his hand in the form of a card.

"I am not empty."

Ever changing, the battles of each bond showing itself as he made one step closer to the truth each time he yelled. The Myriad of Truths showing the way, the ultimate bond found at the realization that the truth of power comes from those around you. The truth is you never are alone.

_The strength of heart required to face oneself has been made manifest._

_Bond of people is the **true** power_

_._


End file.
